1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to tools for sanding edges, particularly edges of furniture, cabinets and interior trim.
2. Description of Related Art
Sanding tools, also referred to as sanding blocks, commonly consist of a member with a flat surface for receiving the back side of a sheet of sandpaper and a clamp for securing the sheet of sandpaper to a tool. These tools are well adapted for sanding most flat surfaces. However, a problem is encountered when they are employed to sand the edges of furniture, counters and interior trim where the edges must be precisely at right angles with another surface, usually the top of the counter or furniture for example.
For this reason, special sanding tools have been devised for sanding such edges. An example is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,714,743 to Hall where the sanding tool is provided with rollers intended to ride on the surfaces perpendicular to the edges. The purpose of the rollers is to keep the edges perpendicular to the surfaces as they are sanded. The sandpaper in the Hall device appears to extend inwardly beyond the corner formed by the roller and the flat, sandpaper receiving surface of the tool. However, considerable force is often exerted on such sanding tools during use. A tool such as described by Hall may not ensure a completely square corner because of flexibility in the shafts of the rollers and play between the rollers and the shafts. This effect is exacerbated by the angle of the handle so pressure on the handle tends to change the angle between the roller and the block surface. Furthermore, the tool is relatively complicated compared to many sanding tools because it requires many additional components including mounting shafts, rollers and tool is considerably more expensive to produce than a standard sanding block.
Tools having an abrasive receiving surface and a guide surface meeting at a set angle are also known as seen, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,845,901 to Hamlin. Here however the strip of sandpaper extends only to the corner between the two surfaces. The edge of the sandpaper is prone to wear and tearing and therefore such tools cannot ensure a good sanding job right to the corners between the edges and the surfaces adjacent thereto.